Shoe-expander



(No Model.) G. El HADLUND,

SHOE EXPANDBR.

N 446 063 Patented Feb. 10,1891.

o. y y

p UNTTED STATES PATENT Demon.

GUSTAF EDVARD HADLUND, OF COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOVA.

SHOE-EXPANDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Aof Letters Patent No. 446,063, dated February 10, 1891.

Application led December 3, 1890. Serial No. 373,445. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsrAF EDWARD HAD- LUND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Council Bluis, in the county of Pottawattamie and State of Iowa, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Expanders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to an improved expander for gaiters or other shoes and boots, and the object is to provide animproved cobblers implement or tool which can be easily thrust into the upper of a gaiter or shoe and readily expanded after such insertion for the purpose of distending and enlarging the upper and holding the gores or elastic in place, whereby the cobbler is enabled to easily insert the hand in the shoe to sew up rips and tears therein, and ample space is provided for readily and easily performing work of all kinds in the upper.

I am aware that it is not new, broadly, to provide a distending ringof narrow proportions having a series oi slots near the end and a tongue at the other end, and I am also aware that it is not new to provide a protector for use in manufacturing shoe uppers to prevent them from soiling, consisting of a folded or doubled layer of cloth, and bent or doubled springs, each provided with a biting-edge, the

/ ing-edges of the springs engage the lining on the inner side of the upper.

My improved device is designed especially for use by cobblers in making repairs to the uppers of gaiters and other shoes, and I provide an expander consisting of a tapering or .conical sleeve or cuff, of suitable length for insertion into the upper of a shoe to expand the same at all points, if desired, having slots near one edge, a headed stud at the opposite edge, and exterior spring-retainers arranged on opposite sides of the sleeve or cuff, each retainer being provided with a'shoulder or offset portion at one end to adapt the same to be readily fixed or united to the cuit, and having a serrated or roughened biting-edge a perspective view of my improved sleeve or 4 cuff with the attached spring-retainers. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View through my improved expander, showing it adjusted for use in a gaiter.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in both iigures of the drawings, in which-A A is the metallic cuff or sleeve, Which is open at one side and the ends, and this sleeve or cuit is tapered in the direction of its length or made slightly conical, the smaller end of the cuit, which is to be thrust into the gaiter, being iiared or bent slightly, as shown at a. The cuff is further provided with a series of slots b, each consisting of a rounded enlargement and an angular extension, and these slots are arranged one in rear of the other, so as to lie at varying distances from one edge of the cuff. A headed stud c is fixed to the opposite edge of the cuff, and this stud is adapted to take in either one of the series of slots b, according to the size of the cu or sleeve. By making the stud with a head of larger diameter than the shank, and providing the slots with the angular extensions of less Width than the diameter of the rounded enlargements, the stud is adapted to fit snugly in either of the slots, and the head thereof prevents accidental separation of the two edges of the elastic cuff or sleeve, which is very desirable.

D E are the exterior spring-retainers arranged on the outer surface of the cul orsleeve, and on opposite sides thereof. Each retainer is made of a thin piece of springmetal, and is formed with a shoulder CZ near one end and an inwardly-extending angular biting-edge e at the other end.

The Offset end of the retainer is rigidly united to the larger end of the tapering cuff or sleeve by soldering, or in any other suitable manner, and by forming the offsetin the retainer the latter lies out or away from the cut't to leave an intermediate space between the retainer and cuff for the reception of the gore of a gaiter.

IOO

To use the'V devioe the eobblereontraots the y sleeve or euif sufficiently to readily enter the shoe, in whieh position it is held by the stud entering the desired slot, and the retainers are then adjusted so that the free ends thereof lie away from the outf, after Whih the euif is thrust into the shoe, with its smaller end foremost, and so that the retainers lie o n the outside of the upper and gore. The cuit is now manipulated to release the stud from the slot and thus expand the sleeve or entf and the upper to the desired size, and the retainers engage the gore so as to hold the same securely in plaee, whereby the upper is held rmly in an expanded position, and ample spaee is provided for the insertion o f the cobblers hand into the upper for sewing up rips and tears in the upper, or for performing other repairing within the shoe.

Having thus described my invention,\vl1at I 4toward the sleeve or Cuff, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GUSTAF EDWARD HADLUND. "Witnesses:

J. J. MAURATH, GEO. MATLACK. 

